ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Prime Minister's Office
PM inaugurates urban development projects, gives away Swachh Survekshan Awards in Indore
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today remotely inaugurated urban development projects at various locations across the State. These include houses under Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, urban drinking water supply schemes, urban solid waste management, urban sanitation, urban transportation and urban landscape projects.
At an event in Indore, he also distributed the Swachh Survekshan-2018 Awards, and launched the Swachh Survekshan-2018 results dashboard.
Addressing a large gathering on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that Swachh Bharat was Mahatma Gandhi’s dream which has now become the resolve of 125 crore Indians. He said the entire country can take inspiration from Indore, which has been awarded for being the cleanest city in India. He also appreciated the three best performing States in cleanliness – Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. He spoke about the progress being made in sanitation. He expressed confidence Mahatma Gandhi’s dream will become a reality by his 150th birth anniversary next year.
The Prime Minister spoke about how the Union Government is working towards modernizing urban infrastructure in India. In addition to the Swachh Bharat Mission, he mentioned the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana , the Smart City Mission, AMRUT, and Deendayal Upadhyay National Urban Livelihood Mission. He recalled that he had inaugurated the Integrated Command and Control Centre in Naya Raipur – India’s first smart city – a few days ago. He said a similar exercise is now underway in seven cities of Madhya Pradesh. He spoke in detail about the progress being made in various urban development initiatives in Madhya Pradesh. He said that through the housing projects inaugurated today, more than one lakh homeless people in Madhya Pradesh have got their own house.
He said the Government of India is working towards the vision of providing housing for all by 2022. He said that in the last four years, approximately 1.15 crore houses have been constructed, and nearly 2 crore more houses are to be constructed, to achieve the goal by 2022. He said that the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana is also becoming a means for generating employment and women empowerment.
The Prime Minister also spoke of progress made in other spheres of development.
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S. No.
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Name of Agreement/ MoUs
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Signatory from Indian side
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Signatory from Maldivian side
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1.
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MoU for Cooperation in the Field of Hydrography between Indian Navy and Maldives National Defence Force
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Vijay Gokhale,
Foreign Secretary
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Uza. Mariya Ahmed Didi, Minister of Defence
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2.
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MoU on Cooperation in the field of Health between GoI and GoM
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Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India
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Abdulla Ameen,
Minister of Health
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3.
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MoU for the Establishment of Passenger and Cargo Services by Sea between Ministry of Shipping, GoI and Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, GoM
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Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India
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Aishath Nahula,
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation
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4.
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MoU for Cooperation in Customs Capacity Building between the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs of India and the Maldives Customs Service
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Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India
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Ahmed Numan,
Commissioner General of Customs
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5.
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MoU between National Centre for Good Governance, Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and Maldives Civil Service Commission on Training and Capacity Building Programme for Maldivian Civil Servants
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Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India
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Dr. Aly Shameem,
President/ Chairman, Civil Service Commission of Maldives
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6.
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Technical Agreement on Sharing White Shipping Information between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force
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Sunjay Sudhir,
Ambassador of India
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Brigadier General Abdul Raheem Abdul Latheef,
Vice Chief of Defence Force
Special Service and Features
Gold and electronic goods worth Rs.65.7 lakhs seized by Chennai Air Customs. One arrested.
Based on intelligence, one Raja Mohamed, 42 of Ramanathapuram who arrived from Sharjah by Indigo flight 6E-8245 was intercepted at exit. On personal search three bundles of gold paste weighing 1.23 kg were recovered from rectum.On extraction 1.12 kg of gold valued at Rs.52 lakhs was recovered and seized. Further, on search of his check in bag,7 iPhone 12 Pro, 12airpods Pro, 10Apple watches, 12 Apple power adapters,6 Samsung galaxy watches and 4 cartons of Dunhill cigarettes totally valued at Rs.13.7 lakhswerealso recovered and seized under Customs Act. He was arrested.
1.12 kg gold worth Rs.52 lakhs, iPhones, airpods, Apple watches, Apple power adapters, Samsung galaxy watches and cigarettes worth Rs.13.7 lakhs, total goods valued atRs. 65.7 lakhs was recovered and seized under Customs Act. One arrested.
Further investigation is under progress.
This stated press release issued by the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
Ministry of Communications
GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR REVIVAL OF LAPSED PLI AND RPLI POLICIES BEFORE 31-03-2020
Mumbai: 16.03.2020
In pursuance of amendments to terms & conditions of Post Office Life Insurance rules 2011. Vide letter of Directorate PLI No. 2-1/2011-LI dated 03-03-2020 Policy holders of Postal Life Insurance  and Rural Postal Life Insurance  are hereby informed that as a one time measure, PLI and RPLI policies, which have crossed the limit of 5years since date of payment of last premium, are being provided a window for revival up to 31-03-2020, subject to production of a medical certificate of good health of the policy holder. Policy holders of such policies who intend to revive their policies to enjoy insurance benefits may apply in writing to any nearest Post office alongwith medical certificate of good health of the policy holder.
After the given date i.e 31-03-2020, such policies will not be revived and policies so lapsed will be treated as cancelled as per rules.
In case of any query, please feel free to make us a call on TOLL FREE NUMBER – 18001805232
Premium payment options : Online at www.indiapost.gov.in At any post office in INDIA.
MC/PM
(Visitor Counter : 1427
Cabinet
Cabinet approves MoC between India and Japan in the field of Environmental Cooperation
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Cooperation  between India and Japan. The MoC was signed on 29th October 2018 during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India to Japan.
Benefits:
The MoC will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between India and Japan in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws and legal provisions in each country. Further, the MoC entails exchange of information and technology between the two countries.
Environmental degradation falls on the socially and economically disadvantaged, more heavily than better-off sections of the society. Any effort at thwarting environmental degradation would lead to environmental equity in the sense of availability of sound environmental resources to all sections of the society. The MoC is expected to bring in the latest technologies and best practices suited for bringing about better environment protection, better conservation, better management of climate change and bio-diversity conservation.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
India – Asean Troika Trade Ministers’ Meeting in New Delhi
India – ASEAN Troika Trade Ministers’ meeting was held in New Delhi today for informal consultation on the ongoing Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership . The meeting was attended by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal,Acting Minister of Commerce of Thailand, Ms. Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Minister of Trade of Indonesia, Enggartiasto Lukita, Secretary General, ASEAN, Lim Jock Hoi and TNC Chair of RCEP, Iman Pambagyo.
Addressing the meeting Piyush Goyal said that India looks at RCEP as a logical extension of its Act East Policy and it holds enormous potential for economic growth and stability for the entire region. He said that inthe 26th round of RCEP negotiations at the Experts level,which has concluded recently in Melbourne, some progress has been achieved with member countries showing a degree of flexibility and accommodation. India too has shown significant flexibility during the negotiations and helped to achieve convergence in few important areas. Two more chapters are close to conclusion, which will take the number to 9 of the total 16 chapters. He expressed hope that the negotiations will achieve even greater convergence during the coming rounds in China and Vietnam.
Commerce and Industry Minister said there is apprehension and pessimism in Indian industry about the impact of previous Free Trade Agreements. India made asymmetrical sacrifice in goods, giving much more than it received. The promise of commensurate offers in services subsequently by ASEAN countries did not fructify. The surge in goods imports into India is accentuated by instances of non-adherence to the Rules of Origin provisions and lack of full cooperation in investigating and addressing such breaches. The utilization of preferential tariffs by India under the India-ASEAN FTA is below 30% because of standards, regulatory measures and other non-tariff barriers in the region.
Market access issues with China for Indian goods have been particularly problematic. Indian Industry is not convinced that RCEP will create a win-win situation for all by ensuring balanced outcomes in an across the key pillars, particularly goods and services.
The Commerce and Industry Minister emphasized on adherence to the RCEP guiding principles to balance high ambition on goods tariff reduction with addressing of sensitives in bilateral parings like India – China through temporary and permanent deviations/ exclusions becomes important.
He also stressed on possible mechanism to address persistent and wide imbalances in trade to give comfort to stakeholders. Services negotiations must also target commensurate levels of ambition, with offers covering most sub-sectors of interest in all modes in a binding manner.
He said that constraints and difficulties can be overcome easily even with a slight degree of mutual understanding and cooperation.
Ministry of Tourism
Ministry of Tourism has formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India- An initiative towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat: Shri G. Kishan Reddy
Ministry of Tourism has recognised the immense potential of Rural Tourism and has been actively working on promotion and development of this niche area of tourism. The Ministry of Tourism has accordingly formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India- An initiative towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat, which has been circulated to concerned Central Ministries, all State Governments/UT Administrations and Industry Stakeholders. The strategy document focuses on the following key pillars:
i. Model policies and best practices for rural tourism
ii. Digital technologies and platforms for rural tourism
iii. Developing clusters for rural tourism
iv. Marketing support for rural tourism
v. Capacity building of stakeholders
vi. Governance and institutional framework
Apart from the above, Ministry of Rural Development  has informed that under their scheme of Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission , twenty-one components have been suggested as desirable for the Cluster development and Tourism Promotion is one of the components.
This information was given by Minister of Tourism Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs
Ministry of Tribal Affairs conducts a virtual workshop on social media to orient EMRS teachers and faculty on social media attributes
National Education Society for Tribal Students , under the aegis of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs conducted a virtual workshop on social media to orient EMRS teachers and faculty on social media attributes and tools.
The online event was held from NESTS Headquarters, New Delhi yesterday.
Shri Asit Gopal, Commissioner, NESTS; Shri. Asheesh Pandey, Head of Government, Politics and Advocacy  Partnerships, Facebook India; Sh. Samiran Gupta, Sr. Director, Public Policy & Philanthropy, Twitter India; Payal Kamat, Sr Manager, Public Policy and Philanthropy,Twitter India. Shri Sushil Kumar, Assistant Director , PIB and other Officials of the Ministry and NESTS guided the event while Principals and faculty of 378 Eklavya Model Residential schools across India joined the session online.
Shri Sushil Kumar spoke about Importance of social media in Formal systems and precautions to be observed while using Social Media platforms. Shri. Asheesh Pandey informed about Organic and content best practices, Basics of boosting and advertising and
Payal Kamat, Sr Manager, Public Policy and Philanthropy,Twitter India focused on Introducing Twitter and how principals and teachers can use Twitter to connect with the world on issues and topics that are important to them.
The event was chaired by Commissioner, NESTS. Sh. Asit Gopal. In his address he stated about how media has emerged as 4th most vital estate which needs to be used with great responsibility as with power comes answerability. All the EMRSs were encouraged to use different social media platforms to have better social outreach and global connect, he said.
The participating representatives of Eklavya Model schools were briefed by the eminent speakers about the versatile and safe use of social media handles, as Facebook and twitter while capacitating them to connect with others and share content on diverse platforms using different tools.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
NFDC Declared Winner Under Miniratna Category by Ministry of MSME
National Film Development Corporation of India has beendeclared winner under the Miniratna Category  by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises .This is part of endeavour by Ministry of MSME to felicitate select CPSEs inrecognition of their exemplary work for the promotion of SC/ST entrepreneurs. The performance parameters were procurement from SC/STentrepreneurs,number of vendor development programmes for SC/ST and number of SC/ST entrepreneurs benefitted as per data uploaded on Sambandh Portal.
National Film Development Corporation Ltd. , incorporated in the year 1975,  was formed by the Government of India with the primary objective of planning and promoting an organized, efficient and integrated development of the Indian film industry.
NFDC has so far funded and produced over 300 films. These films, in various Indian languages, have been widely acclaimed and have won many national and international awards. The primary activities of NFDC are Film production – 100% finance for debutant directors&co-production with foreign & Indian film makers, promoting Indian films at various international film festivals and markets in India and abroad. NFDC’s Film Bazar has now become one of the leading platform for promoting & showcasing Indiancinemato the world.
NFDC is now positioned as a 360-degree integrated media service provider for the creation and dissemination of advertising communication across various electronic platforms. Ministry of Information &Broadcasting has taken the lead with a long –term objective of positioning and promoting India as a preferred destination for filmmakers across the world, by setting up the Film Facilitation office , which is part of NFDC.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan invites US businesses to deploy technology, capital and new business models and participate in India’s bio-fuel revolution
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan participated in the 2nd Annual India Leadership Summit of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum here today.While sharing his views on “India’s Role in Geo-politics of Energy”, in a conversation with Mr Tim Roemer, Former Ambassador of US to India, Shri Pradhan said “Today, India is the hotspot in energy investment destination in the world. Policy reforms introduced by the Government under leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi have further simplified doing business in India.I invite all energy players to bring their technology & investment here & become a part of India's growth story.” He said that the Country has moved to open, transparent, process-driven policy atmosphere, and all are welcome to invest. The investing Companies must bring technology, capital and good business models to India.
Speaking about India’s efforts towards decarbonisation, he said, “Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is expanding its footprints in carbon-free energy, including renewables and bio-energy. Technology and innovation can become game changers for India's quest for decarbonising and developing into a gas-based economy for a cleaner & sustainable energy future.” He said that India had set an ambitious target of producing 175 GW energy through renewable energy sources which has been further enhanced to 450 GW.
Dwelling upon the issues of ethanol and bio-energy, he further added, “From less than 1% ethanol blending in 2015, we have increased our EBP to 6%. We are working to push up the percentage even further.Bioenergy is also being pushed in a big way with Govt's focus on ways to monetise the 600MT of non-fossilised biomass available in the country.” He said that 10 billion dollars investment is to be made in setting up ethanol plants in the country.The US can collaborate with us through deployment of its technological innovations and capital resources in India and become partner in India’s bio-fuel revolution, he added.
Talking about India-US partnership, Minister Pradhan said, “Energy is increasingly an important component of our bilateral trade. Our crude oil import from USA was almost nil in 2014. Now, the total import of petroleum products from USA including LNG in 2018-19 stood at over 7 billion dollars, and is likely to go up further this year.”
On the issue of India’s role in global energy landscape, he added, “Growth in global energy consumption will be driven by India. India's vibrant market presents immense opportunity.World is moving towards a new energy model. We are committed to implement Hon’ble PM Modi’s vision which will ensure that India leads the global energy transition.”India is going to lead energy transformation in the country, he added.
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Ministry of Home Affairs
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah visited hospitals to enquire about health of brave policemen of Delhi Police who were injured in the violence during the tractor rally on Republic Day.
"Met brave policemen of Delhi Police today in hospital and wished them a speedy recovery"
"The nation is proud of the example of bravery and restraint presented by Delhi Police in the face of violence that occurred on Republic Day"
Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah visited hospitals today to see the brave policemen of Delhi Police who were injured in the violence during the tractor rally on Republic Day on 26 January. Shri Amit Shah went to Sushruta Trauma Center and Tirathram Hospital in the capital and enquired about the health of injured policemen.
In a tweet, the Union Home Minister said "met the brave policemen of Delhi Police today in hospital and wished them a speedy recovery." The entire nation is proud of the example of bravery and restraint in the face of the violence that took place on Republic Day.
Shri Amit Shah also met the families of the injured policemen.
Violence and sabotage was carried out and policemen were also attacked by the people involved in the rally at several places in Delhi, including the historic Red Fort. This took place during the tractor rally on Republic Day, in which several Delhi Police officers and personnel were injured.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Allocation of Budget For Evms
The Government has allocated Rs.1000 Crores in the financial year 2021-22 in connection with procurement of EVMs & VVPATs.
The procedure followed for the purchase of EVMs and VVPATs is as under:
 Based on the estimated number of polling stations for oncoming elections, the Election Commission of India  determines the number of additional machines,  if needed over and above its existing inventory.
 The ECI then requests the Government for in-principle approval and necessary budget for the required number of machines along with tentative costs.
 On receipt of the proposal for in principal approval from the ECI, the Legislative Department places the matter before the Government as per the Delegation of the Financial Powers Rules, 1978, if required, to the Cabinet and on approval, convey the same to the ECI.
 Upon receipt of the in principle approval from the Government, the necessary work order for said procurement is placed by the ECI on the PSU-manufactures, viz. M/s. Bharat Electronics Limited  and M/s Electronics Corporation of India Limited  for supply of machines.
 Based on the allocation of funds the payments are made by the ECI to the PSUs, subject to the finalisation of the cost by the Price Negotiation Committee . PNC consists of AS/JS& FA  one member each from the Legislative Department, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance and the ECI.
 Subsequently, based on the manufacturing plan and production, the machines are allocated by the ECI to various states/districts for timely deployment and use.
As per the Government of India Rules, 1961,the Election Commission of India falls under the ambit of the Legislative Department, hence, it is allocated to the Legislative Department.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha, today.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Delhi judokas win 12 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals at Khelo India Youth Games
Delhi judokas have proved to be a cut above the rest by winning 12 gold, 3 silver and 6 bronze medals at Khelo India Youth Games,2019 being played at Pune. Delhi from the first day consistently picked up three gold medals on all four days.It has now become the only state to have a double-digit gold tally in judo followed by Punjab with 4 gold, while Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and hosts Maharashtra had bagged three gold each.
Delhi’s dominance primarily came in the Under-17 and Under-21 girls’ section, winning eight out of 12 gold, which included international medallists TulikaMaan  and Jakarta Asian Games silver medallist PinkyBalhara .
22 out of the 29 participating states won medals in judo which indicates a growing interest of youngsters in the game.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Ethanol Blended Petrol Programme
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- Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies  achieve over 10% ethanol blending in petrol during Ethanol Supply Year  2021-22.
- Government amends the National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 which has advanced the target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030
Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies  have achieved over 10% ethanol blending in petrol during Ethanol Supply Year  2021-22. Government has amended the National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 which has advanced the target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030. The required ethanol quantity from sugarcane and grain based feedstocks for blending under this Programme is accordingly procured by OMCs from registered bidders/suppliers.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.